Discoloring Vinyl Floor - what causes?

Hi All
I have a vinyl kitchen floor which extends down the hallway, and into utility room. It was pretty new when I moved into the home 10 years ago, but in the last few years, has developed a few dark spots my wife described as scuff or magic marker spots. We noticed a large area of the floor darkened, and now, a whole area of the floor, has discolored and it looks almost as if mould was growing on it, but it is in the body of the vinyl itself.

It's almost like, we used an incompatible cleaning product with the flooring, and there was a chemical reaction which darkened the floor. Except, its highly localized to one specific area. It is conspicuous that the darkening area is by the sink and dishwasher, which suggests moisture.

I most likely will hire a flooring man to do the job, but would like to rectify the problem before I replace (or have replaced) the floor.

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We did not have a water leak, but moisture rose up through our slab ( texas ) foundation and caused discoloration in the vinyl. It looked similar to your
pics but in more, smaller areas. We replaced our floor with a ceramic tile
floor and it's been fine... that was 5+ years ago. Haven't had any issues
with our tile floor.

if it was a moisture problem, wouldnt the vinyl be "springy" or make...crackly or creaky noises when walked on? The floor is mechanically sound, sounds good, no bounce or noise or any of that.

Yes that is the dishwasher in the picture, the black appliance. And the sink is to the left of it. The house is on a crawlspace, I failed to mention.

Also, if moisture, wouldnt the dark spot go right up to the dishwasher (theres a band of white where the floor is not discolored) right in front of the dishwasher. Also, the floor is not coming up at the edge.

I think I might have to crawl under the house. (man I hate that) WIsh I had a basement.